The Roundup for June 16, 2015
Good day folks! Weather here in NYC is very strange. Very hot one day and rains the other.
International Politics
Overall
– Amnesty International criticized global efforts in helping refugees
– Interesting look into what happens in Libya because of the Islamic State can affect a community in Egypt
Africa
– At least 23 people died and more than 100 were wounded in N’Djamena, Chad, after suicide bombers attacked the capitalEurope
– French President Francois Hollande: We need to keep Greece in the eurozone
– Some members of SYRIZA want an Iceland-like default as an alternative to the current woes
– Russia vowed to retaliate against the U.S. and its recent decision to put heavy arms in eastern Europe states
Latin America, Caribbean and Canada
– Greg Grandin: “Concentration Camps in the Dominican Republic?”
– A new leftist party arose in Mexico, which may mean changes in the future for the country’s politics
Financial Matters
– Journalist David Cay Johnston joins The Real News to discuss billionaire John Malone and how he can get a sweet deal out of a Charter Communications-Time Warner Cable merger
– Economist Michael Hudson joins The Real News to talk about the potential consequences of interest rates if raised by the Federal Reserve
– Pension funds are at risk of shrinking as a result of coal prices falling
– Over the next few years, Gap announced it would close 175 stores
Labor’s a-Brewing
– Michelle Chen: “Qatar’s World Cup Preparations Could Kill as Many as 4,000 Migrant Workers”
Politics US
Washington USA
– Dahr Jamail: “Former US Attorney General Files Brief in Lawsuit Challenging Legality of Iraq War”
– Jeb Bush is officially running for president on the Republican ticket
– Gallup: Either two-thirds or more than two-thirds of Americans do not confide in the three branches of government
– Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): “I am not a great fan” of Benjamin Netanyahu
– Sanders, meanwhile, criticized President Barack Obama for failing to follow-up on his promises to the working class
– Hillary Clinton: Americans do not personally view my wealth as a primary issue
– Gallup: Out of all the institutions, Americans trust the military the most
– The White House wants to expand the Authorization for Use of Military Force for use in Syria
– The CIA violated its own rules and tortured individuals for “human experimentation”
– The warehouse in charge of storing the information of Americans who signed up through the Affordable Care Act says there are major privacy issues with the sign ups
Anytown USA
– The Real News interviews Ramona Africa, a survivor of the MORE bombing in the 1980s, who explains the persistence of state oppression
– A new study found legislation of marijuana in a few states did not lead to increased consumption
– Kit O’Connell: “Activists Bring Solitary Confinement To College Campus For Alvaro Luna Hernandez”
– In Dallas, James Boulware planted pipe bombs outside a police station. Moreover, he fired at the police department, yet no was injured. Boulware was later killed by police.
– Boulware’s family said he was mentally unstable with a history of violence
We Don’t Need No Education
– A new study found schools located in greener areas help students’ cognitive ability
The Second Sex
– A new report found Columbia University failed other women that were sexually assaulted as students
– Jessica Valenti: “Jeb Bush’s past words on women are bad. Democrats’ past laws are worse”
– Good news as the Supreme Court declined to save North Carolina’s anti-abortion law
Planet Earth
– Journalist Paul DeRienzo joins The Real News to explain leakage from nuclear disposal sites in the U.S.
– Still, major firms tied to Silicon Valley believe nuclear power is a safe investment to fight climate change
– A draft of Pope Francis I’s encyclical on climate change was leaked to the press where he goes all-out on humanity’s contributions to global warming
– New research finds carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere can trap heat for thousands of years
– Shell sent its oil rig to drill in the Arctic, which means good news for the environment for sure
Mixed Bag
– Attorney Michael Ratner joins The Real News to discuss the legacy of the Magna Carter after 800 years
– Rachel Dolezal, president of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Wash., announced her resignation from the position
– Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Let Rachel Dolezal Be as Black as She Wants To Be”
Break Time
– Happy As Can Be [Cut Off Your Hands]
4 Comments
Thank you Brandon. Much anticipation of the reconsideration of TAA in the House today.
Here Reuters Correspondent Richard Cowan on CSpan Morning Journal thinks it won’t happen for now.
http://www.c-span.org/video/?326484-6/washington-journal-richard-cowan-house-taa-revote
As I have said before, the Charter-TWC merger is another example of the bipartisan policy that competitiveness is only for workers, not for corporations. Or put more simply: Unionism, bad; monopolies, good.
If the Fed raises interest rates, it will do so to suppress any increases in workers’ wages –as it has done for the 35 years.
The crime of workers’ deaths related in Qatar to World Cup construction has been going on for years, and worker death, mistreatment, and abuse in the Gulf region, for decades.
I am no fan of Bernie Sanders, the fake progressive candidate. Israel’s occupation has stunk since its inception 48 years ago. What did Bernie do to stop and protest it in his 9 years in the Senate?
Hillary the Hilarious: This is like telling someone not to think about pineapples. All it does is get them to start thinking about pineapples. So the more Hillary says her great wealth is no big deal, the more people will be thinking about it.
Trusting the military is always a bad move. Heck, even Eisenhower didn’t.
Donald Trump, one of America’s great egomaniacs, entered the Republican field. I doubt he wants to be President, but he couldn’t resist the idea of more chances to stand in front of a camera and microphone. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kardashians didn’t enter as well, and for the same reasons. I think there are even a couple of feral cats on my street who are considering a bid.
Shell tows its oil platforms to Alaska for drilling but winters them in Washington for tax purposes. The last one broke loose and ran aground, spilling oil off a pristine Alaskan island. Ah, the wonders of capitalism.
Perhaps someone can correct me. But wasn’t Magna Carta only about guaranteeing the rights of the nobility against the crown, and screw the common people?
It’s getting to be all hubris all the time with Greece. My bet — it is bobbing and weaving for show, and a deal has been struck for some time. Just a hunch.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-default-position-on-greece-1434471175
http://www.wsj.com/articles/greek-central-bank-warns-of-uncontrollable-crisis-if-bailout-talks-fail-1434531570
The Charter of the Forest came in 1217 which guaranteed some rights of the commons.
The enclosure acts beginning in 1604 began reversing these. It was a thesis of Marx that as these pushed commoners off the land into the cities it set the stage for the industrial revolution.
On the Magna Carta Michael Ratner at TRNN
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=14009